Fatburger

Give me a fat juicy turkey burger all day long hold the egg not my «thang » no cheese w/​mayo/​onion w a reg fry n banana shake superb!
Not sure why ppl get so hype on what rappers (ice cube 2 n the mawnin got the fatburger) rap about that’s there «thang»!
Westcoast ppl love Fatburgers!!!
Just like New York ppl love Juniors they think it’s the best cheesecake ever! but Chicagoans beg to differ…
Just like south siders love Harolds n westsiders love Uncle Remus!
Overall to each is own!
Personally I like place n the food is good! It is pricey but still decent…

Since the bf and I were running around an area full of all too familiar food joints we decided to go with something new. I remembered Kanye had brought Fatburger to Illinois for some reason and was eager to find out why.
The verdict: its alright, but nothing special. Burger sizes come in small, medium, large, all the way to double xl. You can get bacon, an egg, chili or cheese on it at about a doller each. My gripe with the burger was that if you don’t hold it in the white wrapper they give you… it falls apart. Well that sucks… i’d say worth a visit once.

If you like good burgers don’t go here. I couldn’t wait to get to this place because…
1. West Coast rappers had been yapping about it for years.
2. Kanye West supposedly owns this location?*
Honestly I haven’t been back since it opened so it might be better now. But the burgers were extremely bland and little, Unless you order the larger nastier ones. Oh and The place was unbelievably dirty. So very dirty…
You know how you’ll visit other cities and they may have a really good restaurant that you know would do well in your city? Well, this is not that place, This was not a franchise the Chicagoland area needed. I felt compelled to write this review after a Californian recently disrespected me by claiming FatNastyBurger was better than Portillos… yea right.

Incredibly overpriced for such a simple burger.
There was nothing special about the food at all.
For a chain «restaurant» to charge that much for a burger it should at least be – good.

I was starving one day and said why not go here.. I was in the neighborhood and had heard this place was good.
Well its OK, but its nothing to rave about. Service was the best part of the experience. Onion rings were better then the burger and the burger was over priced. Bonus was they has fresh lemon wedges for beverages. LOL
So. I will keep this short. BUT I would def not make this trip just for the burgers.

In my memory of Fatburger, it was juicy, delicious, mouth-​watering, and all around heavenly. In reality, it was none of those things…
I admit, I may have ordered wrong. My first mistake? I didn’t get the burger char-​grilled. My second mistake? Relish. That damn relish is everywhere! It’s soooo ridiculously overpowering, it’s like you are eating a relish sammie! My third mistake? Trying to wipe off the said relish and salvage my burger. It just made the bun fall apart and get gross. My fourth mistake? Getting fries there… they sucked.

O-​VER-​RATE-​ED *clap clap clapclapclap*
I have a story behind this review. I’ve always been into hip hop and listening to multiple rappers reference the place made me excited to give it a try. I had my first chance freshman year high school when some friends and I went to San Diego. We passed it on the way to the hotel, and I tried to make it a point to go there and check it out. Instead because my friend is thai and wanted us to explore thai food, we went to a thai place down the street from it. Second chance was the Summer of 2007 when I went down to South Beach. We just got done eating at A Fish Called Avalon and were going back to the car when we saw it and all its glory slightly packed at 12am. Now the hype machine was running on full blast when I finally got here. Oh it was also my birthday the day we went so I was looking for something good to satisfy my birthday hunger.
THE GOOD: The section is stated as «THE GOOD» so I might as well start it off with somthing good about the place. The selection of condiments are pretty awesome. I’ve been on a «egg on burgers» tear since trying it in other random places. The burgers tasted pretty mediocre and not as good as the hype surrounding it. Why bother even driving out there (unless you live less than 10 min away) for a burger that tastes just like Fuddruckers?
THE BAD: Prices were pretty hefty for fast food grub. I probably spent around $ 10-​$ 12 bucks on my combo which is pretty much what I would have spent at Red Robin and been happier. Nothing really wowed me about food which sucks after all that hype.
THE UGLY: The line getting food also was pretty terrible. It wasn’t like the people were at Hot Doug’s or Kuma’s Corner and had the chance to bite into a burger or sausage that’s actually worth it’s price. NO!!! They were getting food at a place where its equivalent was down the street with only 2 tables filled in the entire restaurant (you can name any generic burger place down La Grange because it probably tasted the same or even better than what I had). Well looking at the less than stellar responses, I guess if I went today I wouldn’t have that line problem anymore. The question is would i want to make that trip out there?

I heard so much about this place. So when the opportunity to drive to Orland Park presented itself, I had to stop in at Fatburger. Okay, so I’ve ate a lot of burgers in my life. I considered myself educated in burger-​ology. I was expecting an out of this world burger especially for over $ 8.99. I’ve heard stories how this could rival even the legendary In-​N-​Out burger. I take a bite and… it was average. In fact everything was just average, from the fries to the slow ass service to the overly sour lemonade. Nothing in the place can warrant the price. It seems like you are paying for the name and status of eating a Fatburger. It’s certainly not because of the quality. I’m so glad I didn’t have to make a special trip just to eat here.

Maybe I’m a little more benevolent with my stars (they are free to give away) or maybe it’s because of the Kanye connection. It could even be because of Ice Cube’s lyrics… regardless, I think this an ‘A-​OK’ burger joint.
So got the Kingburger, onion rings, fat fries, a banana maui shake. of course shared the fries and onion rings. The burger was good. I don’t think it stood out, but then again i’m going to have to say neither does Top Notch. sorry South-​Siders, but if you travel around you’ll see that it isn’t all that (Charlie Beinlich’s is awesome!!!)…
What kills me is that for cheese it costs a dollar more. Same thing for an egg. $ 3 something for onion rings?!? Come on. seems like it’d cost more to eat the bad food than to get the bypass to fix the damage from it!
Total spent for the meal for 2 was like 27 dollars. I’ll come back, but this will only be a once in a long while type of place.
Sorry Kanye. I guess you better stick with being «the voice of this generation.»

First things first, I was food poisoned here. I know this because this was the first thing I ate all day, and afterward, the last thing I ate. I had a stomach ache for the rest of the day and couldn’t eat anything. I felt like this for two days.
I had the baby burger special that came with fries and a drink. My strawberry milkshake was okay, nothing to scream over. Potbelly’s is better if you’re talking about chain shakes. My burger patty didn’t fit the bun – if you’re going to have a mini patty, it should have a matching bun, esp, as everyone said, you’re going to charge so much. Mine was mostly veggies and bread. The fries were okay too. I got the fat fries on recommendation of the cashier, but they were okay. Cooked fine, but didn’t taste really special – same as Red Robin and at least they give you seasoned salt there. My fries were lacking in flavor.
I also echo the sentiments of everyone else, for a chain restaurant, this place has pretty expensive prices. Yes, the burgers are better than McDonald’s, but it should be if you’re paying that much. However, if I’m going to spend 8.00 plus on a burger, I’d rather go to a pub or bar where they’ll at least use a nice aged cheddar and toast my bun.

After I read all the reviews I was prepared for disappointment. I was happily relieved to receive a burger that was pretty reasonable.
Most of the complaints on here are accurate; Fatburger is a little more expensive than what it should be. For $ 11 you can probably go get your favorite burger and fries (and soda) almost anywhere in the city. Nevertheless, what you get at Fatburger is a tasty burger with a relatively generic bun/​toppings combo, and some delicious «fat fries» (steak fries).
I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here again. I would definitely rather pay $ 11 for this meal than $ 7 for the equivalent at McDonalds or Burger King.

Expectations: High
Hunger: Almost painful
Crowd: Over-​bearing (I have no idea why… there’s at least a half-​dozen other fast food joints within sight of this place that are far superior)
Service: Horrible (messed up our order, AND gave it to a different table)
Food: A dry, nasty, stale version of Steak n Shake
Cleanliness: A burger must have exploded on or around our table before we got there. But it was the only table available.
Music: Annoying (not surprised… considering who owns the place)
Will I be back? Hell no. The only reason they get 2 stars is because the fries were fresh, and tasty. But then again… it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to drop a basket of fries in a deep fryer.
In other words… stick to Kanye’s workout plan. Not his burger joint.

Was it the best burger ever? Nah.
Was it the worst burger ever? Certainly not. (I think that distinction belongs to A&W.)
My husband and I ventured over here to pick up lunch for his whole fam on black Friday. We had a medium-​sized order — burgers for 5, 4 orders of fries, and a shake.
They gave us the milkshake (strawberry maui) right away, which was probably a mistake, but we sucked it down while waiting for our food. Actually, the milkshake was really tasty; not thick like most «real milk» shakes, but light and creamy.
We waited awhile for our burgers and fries, although it WAS pretty busy, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. We hurried home with our fresh food, and … well, I was underwhelmed. I had a baby fat burger, and while it was tasty — and they put what I wanted on it – it was not fantastic. I was expecting the burger to be more juicy and tender; it was a little on the overcooked side. My fat fries were nothing to write home about; good, but not great.
My husband enjoyed his fatburger — as did my in-​laws — but I really don’t think it was anything special. Perhaps cheese would have perked it up, and god knows my brother-​in-​law enjoyed his bacon egg & cheeseburger, but then he likes anything with bacon.
It wasn’t bad, per se, but I’m not sure what all the hype was about either.

You tricked me, Ice Cube.
I am NOT a fan of FatBurger. I spent WAY too much there on an average burger, average fries and a stale «fresh» lemonade. I guess people are all into this place because of the Cali Connection and the Kanye West ownership, but I just gave my disgusting meal to my little brother, who will eat anything, and high tailed it to Top Notch, where they actually know what they’re doing. This is the last time I choose my lunch from 1994 California rap lyrics.

So, I feel like most of my reviews on here are going to be about the amount of food you get for the money. But — you don’t understand… my husband can eat and eat and eat. So, if we leave and he is not full — I feel like we didn’t get enough food.
Anyway, we walked in and the R&B music was bumping as if we were in a night club. Kinda strange. I wanted the Baby Fat burger, since I wasn’t starving and the Fat Burger looked ginormous. But, they were «out» of the baby fat burgers. I don’t understand — — aren’t these burgers fresh? Can’t you just make some smaller burgers from the ground beef that you should have?
So, I ended up getting a Fat burger. My husband got the Fat Burger Meal for $ 8.59 but he added 1 slice of cheese and they charged us $ 1 extra. Spectacular. So, for 2 fat burgers, 1 order of fries and 2 drinks, it was $ 20. It is true that when the burger came — it looked like a McDonalds burger with a little more lettuce. But it was comparable in size and didn’t look as huge and delicious as the pictures in the place. I was barely full by the time we left and I know my husband wasn’t full.
I must say, the burger was pretty tasty but nothing out of this world and certainly not worth the money…

Delicious. Simply delicious. I take my burgers seriously, and fatburger did a good bit of work that day. I ordered the triple king burger with extra bacon and everything else it comes with. I ate every bit.
The fries were average (nothing bad, but nothing so great), and the milkshake was pretty delicious. Though I live in the city, I’ll have to make my way out to the ‘burbs again for some Fatburger luvin’ again

According to my ~Yelp profile~, my last meal on Earth would be a hamburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. So obviously I was all about getting my buns down here and trying this place myself.
I was… let down.
The burger was pretty dry. I don’t want greasy, but I want JUICY. This burger was not juicy. It was actually crispy and burned in places, which is always a deal breaker in my burger book.
The fries were a major disappointment. I went with the skinny fries which could have passed for Burger King’s…yeah. The boy had the fat fries and even those were just meh. Definitely the kind of fries you triple dip in the ketchup to make them palatable. Which was another annoying thing… no ketchup bottles! No giant ketchup pump! Just packets! Nothing annoys me more when I just want to put that shit in my mouth covered in glorious ketchup and I have to take the time to weasel open those damn ketchup packets. Your hands get all greasy and then you can’t open them and then when you do they squirt out in all different directions and then all that effort only yields you enough ketchup for one fry. where can I review ketchup packets, Unilocal?!
The high point was the shake. Thick, chocolate-​y, and you could tell it was made with ice cream. Kind of reminded me of Oberweis’ shakes but with less Republicans. They give you a good amount too… I couldn’t finish mine and I’m definitely a member in good standing of the Clean Plate and Cup Club.
The restaurant itself was clean and a lot bigger than I expected. You will hear at least one Kanye West song. The staff is pretty friendly. There are mints by the condiment/​straw area; I always like it when a place has mints, it’s like here, we caused that stank breath, let us fix it.
All and all, I thought it was somewhere between okay and good. Definitely not great. I don’t see myself venturing back in the future unless I’m with someone who is really set on going. And then they’re paying for gas.

Congratulations Illinois–
Finally Chicago (land area) gets a taste of the burger from my hometown. LOS ANGELES. Enjoy fine people of Illinois, enjoy!
Fatburger holds a special place in my heart. I grew up with this place back home, we would always hit up Fatburger after a day at the beach or after school and Im so glad its out here now.
Now if we could just get the fine people at In N Out to go national things would be complete in hamburger-​world.

For being very new… the place was running very smoothly the night that I went. The burgers were big. Bigger than you think. The double was almost a pound of meat… so think twice.
Great tasting. The burger was very tasty. Also got Chili Cheese Fries, and they were worth it.
All in all. A far drive from Chicago, but if you live in the south side it is worth the trip.

Today was a good day…
Two in the daytime got the Fatburger…
This is Fatburger’s first Illinois location and today a combo of longtime fans (me!) and soon to be new fans converged upon this spot off of the Orland strip for some serious getting-​down on some burgers for their grand opening. Now I’m officially broke, so full and super smiley.
And they were so goooood. Hot, juicy, fresh and big as hell. People were up in there challenging themselves to eat triple King burgers — which is doing a lot. Fries are the same perfect fries (make mine the «skinny» ones please!), chili is the same dark chili I loved in California and the shakes are all really ice creamy. Prices are more than an average fast food type burger (probably an average of about $ 9 – 12 per person with drink, fries & tax, depending on what exactly you get) but then again, it’s not really fast food — everything is cooked to order when you order at the counter and then you food is brought to you at the table. My favorites? Skinny fries, chili and the turkey fat with cheddar. They have veggie burgers (Boca) too, which I haven’t tried yet, but are next on my list. I also love the bacon and egg sandwich.
The restaurant is large and very comfortable. The juke box is deep and totally Fatburger worthy — from the Roots to Etta James to Johnny Cash, MJ and the Spinners, and of course some Kanye West (a financial backer of the Illinois Fatburger invasion). There are also two large flat screen TVs that were tuned into sports, which was a nice and new addition from Fatburgers I’ve visited back home.
Word is they did this «soft» type opening, because when they did a big ol huge grand opening for their new store in Detroit, there were lines around the block. This quiet opening meant blissfully short lines — for now…
Perfectly executed expansion — great food, hot music, awesome and friendly vibe — California style burgery happiness at its best. If you’re a fan and you’ve been jonesing, get in the car and go now, because the first one in the city of Chicago proper won’t open for a few more months still.